Category: Oscar Profile

Born Francisco Rosario Capra on May 18, 1897 in Bisacquino, Sicily and raised in Los Angeles from the age of six, the future President of both AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America) would become a naturalized American citizen in 1920 at which time he legally…

Born February 5, 1946 to painter Isabelle Anne and Olympic gold medalist, army officer, colonel and NATO commander Godfrey Lionel Rampling, (Tessa) Charlotte Rampling would emerge as one of the most distinguished actresses of our time. Educated in France and England, Rampling was a model before becoming an actress in 1965’s The Kanck…and How to…

Born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi to actor Robert Earl Jones and his wife, James Earl Jones suffered from a childhood stutter that he studied dramatics to overcome. Writing and reading poetry in class helped him overcome the disability that he says he still has despite his reputation as the possessor of one of…

Born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund on September 22, 1895 in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine), Chicago reared Yiddish stage actor Muni Weisenfreund became one of Hollywood’s greatest stars after changing his name to Paul Muni. He married actress Bella Finkel after appearing with her on the Yiddish stage in 1921. Segueing from the Yiddish theater to…

Born November 5, 1960 to Judith Balfor and the now 90-year-old Major-General Sir John Swinton, Katherine Mathilda Swinton can trace her distinguished lineage back to before the 11th Century Norman Conquest. Educated in three schools, she was a classmate and friend of Princess Diana. After a break to do volunteer work in Kenya, she graduated…

Born in Tahiti on June 21, 1926, Conrad Lofcadio Hall was the son of James Norman Hall, co-author of Mutiny on the Bounty, the cousin of actors Jon Hall and Ben Chapman. Originally intent on a job in journalism, Hall drifted into the University of Southern California’s cinema school from which he graduated in 1949.…

Born July 22, 1907 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Phillips Holmes was the eldest of three children of actors Taylor Holmes (1878-1959) and Edna Phillips (1878-1951). He, his sister Madeline and their younger brother Ralph all joined the family profession, with young Phillips making his film debut as his father’s son in 1918’s Uneasy Money. A…

This is an update of the profile I wrote on the legendary Irish-born red-headed screen icon, Maureen O’Hara, five years ago. I said at the time that she may well be the greatest living actress never to have been nominated for an Oscar. The Academy rectified that deficiency when they presented her with an honorary…

Born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Northumberland (now Tyne and Wear), England, Ridley Scott was the middle of three sons of an officer in the Royal Engineers. While he intended to follow his father into the Army, his older brother Frank having gone into the Royal Nany, his father encouraged him to pursue his…

Born October 10, 1900, Helen Hayes (Brown) was the daughter of actress Essie Hayes and her husband, Frank Brown, a clerk. She began acting in a school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the age of 5, quickly followed by her first professional stage performance in The Royal Family. She made her Broadway debut…

Born December 9, 1905 in Montrose, Colorado to a shoe store clerk and his homemaker wife, Dalton Trumbo would become the most famous of the Hollywood Ten when he was blacklisted in 1947. Educated in Colorado and Southern California, Trumbo became the sole support of his mother and younger sisters when his father died of…

Born Emmanuel Goldenberg in Bucharest, Romania on December 12, 1893, the future Edward G. Robinson emigrated to the U.S. with his parents at the age of 9. While studying law at City College of New York, he gravitated toward acting, making his Broadway debut in 1915 and his film debut the following year. He became…

Born June 25, 1903 in New York, New York, Anne Revere was a direct descendant of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Her father was a stockbroker and her mother a homemaker. After graduating from Wellesley College, she enrolled in the American Laboratory School to study acting with Maria Ouspenskaya and Richard Boleslavsky. She made her…

Born November 28, 1933 in Redding Ridge, Connecticut, Hope Lange was the daughter of Florenz Ziegfeld’s music arranger and an actress mother. She began acting on stage at the age of 9, but her father’s death in 1942 put a financial burden on her mother who then ran a restaurant in Greenwich Village. She nevertheless…

Born March 10, 1910 in Brooklyn, New York of German, French and Irish descent, Claire Trevor (birth name Claire Wemlinger) became known as The Queen of Film Noir because of her portrayals of bad girls in many films noir and other thrillers. After completing high school, Trevor attended Columbia University and the American Academy of…